Professional, recreational, and sport shooters often practice shooting rifles, side arms, pistols, pellet guns, airsoft guns, shotguns, archery and the like at shooting ranges or galleries. This practice, with live rounds in real weapons, cannot be adequately simulated by lasers, video games, or simulated shooting mechanisms. Common to these live round targeting systems is a paper target or paper bulls-eye target mounted at a predetermined distance from the shooter. The shooter will aim a firearm at the target and fire a round into the target. Commonly, multiple shots are fired into a single paper target. However, as the target becomes saturated with holes from each shot, the shooter has an increasingly difficult time determining the accuracy of the most recent shot. Thus, there is a need tor a system that enables each shot from a plurality of shots fired at a single physical target to be individually observed and, ideally, recorded so that the shooter can analyze his or her shooting pattern for improvement and correction.
Known systems and methods for shot tracking on physical targets are not entirely satisfactory for the range of applications in which they are employed. Downing, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,577,733 issued on 1996 Nov. 26, teaches a targeting system for a shooter of a gun. The system includes a target image created by a projector and projected on a target screen or pre-printed target. A light panel is disposed between the target and the gun so that a bullet from the gun passes through the light panel, which sends signals indicative of the bullet's location and velocity to a computer. However, one limitation of this system is that it requires a delicate and complicated light panel, which requires maintenance of the light-emitting sources, and can be easily damaged by stray ballets commonly found in a shooting gallery.
Another example of attempts to provide a shooter with an assessment of shots includes the teaching of Larkin et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 6,699,041 issued on 2004 Mar. 2. Larkin et al. discloses a self-assessing target with four quadrants wherein each quadrant contains possible causes for why shots ate straying from the intended center of the target. However, this system does not suggest, contemplate, motivate, or teach a system for providing a single target with an electronic image that masks previous shots.
A more modern approach to targeting imagery includes the teaching of Mowers in U.S. Pat. No. 7,255,035 issued on 2007 Aug. 14. Mowers discloses a weaponry camera sight with a digital electronic display of the sight picture for the shooter. The display magnifies the sight picture, thus eliminating a scope sight. The display includes a range finding device and can record the screen image for later playback. However, Mowers does not contemplate, suggest, motivate, or teach a system for providing a single target with an electronic image that masks previous shots.
A more modern approach to a firearm training system includes the teaching of Kendir et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 7,329,127 issued 2008 Feb. 12. Kendir et al. discloses a laser training system including a target assembly, a laser transmitter assembly that attaches to a firearm, a detection device and a processor. A target locates at extended ranges and accounts for various environmental and other conditions. One limitation of the Kendir et al. system is that the laser replaces live rounds, this detracting from the real-world feel of using ammunition. Further, Kendir et al. does not contemplate, suggest, motivate, or teach a system for providing a single target with an electronic image that masks previous shots.
Yet another attempt to provide a system to provide improved feedback to a shooter of his or her shots is the Target-Cam system (www.target-cam.com), currently available on-line. This system includes a camera and portable wireless digital spotting scope for target shooting and rifle and handgun sighting. The Target-Cam systems use a wireless video camera and a hand-held 3.5″ color display that allows target shooters to view every target hit instantly from up to 300 yards away. However, this system does not contemplate, suggest, motivate, or teach a system for providing a single target with an electronic image that masks previous shots, nor does it provide a computer with software capable of analyzing shots.
Thus, there exists a need for systems and methods for electronically displaying individual shots from multiple shots on one physical target that improve upon and advance the design of known shot marking and tracking systems and methods. Examples of new and useful systems, methods and devices for electronically displaying individual shots from multiple shots on one physical target relevant to the needs existing in the field are discussed below.